Ok, so we’ve talked about why you should recruit mentors as you develop your own ability to get your job done better/faster/stronger. That’s pretty safe stuff.
But here’s something you don’t hear nearly as often: you should be a mentor, starting now.
Start at the beginning
Most of us think as mentoring as an activity that benefits the […]

Here’s something that virtually no one will ever tell you. I don’t think anyone ever told me this, either, but I’ve found time and again that when I make real progress I’m following this rule: don’t do everything on your list. My rule of thumb is that 85% of all the things I have to […]

I spend a lot of time focused on trying to get people—especially people just starting their careers—to think about their career over long term and to identify ways that they can do something meaningful with their time. It’s fun, but I realize I’m leaving out a small but important part of the workplace: those who […]

So, how about it: what do you do for a living? What does your organization do? Why should anyone outside your company care?
We are special
I’ve made the argument before—and I genuinely believe—that those of us in science, engineering, and technology are special. We are going to create, invent, discover, and build the things that will […]

Before we get started talking about private conversations, though, I wanted to interject something. Think about this as the sorbet course.
I’ve always heard you’ve got to blow your own horn, because no on else is going to blow it for you.
For most of us, though, blowing our own horn is pretty hard to do. I’m […]

When it comes to careers a lot of us spend way too much time on autopilot, letting someone else decide what promotions we should be interested in and what career paths we should take.
I think some people handle their careers this way because they are pleasers at heart, and when they are asked to take […]

I have a confession to make: I was a brat.
There are a lot of us around, so odds are you probably work with one or are one (c’mon, I confessed; you can too).
The damage a brat can do
I’m talking about young (mostly), headstrong employees who know everything. In the presence of strong leadership and a […]

I have fun doing a regular weekly article at HPCWire that covers some of the same topics we cover here, only with more of an emphasis on supercomputing. I usually don’t publish items that are substantially the same here and there. Today’s topic is important enough, however, that I think it’s worth making an exception […]

Want to kick your career up a notch? Then here’s something that virtually no one will ever tell you. I don’t think anyone ever told me this, either, but I’ve found time and again that when I make real progress I’m following this rule: don’t do everything on your list. My rule of thumb is […]

This is part two of a two part series on managing your career more effectively by thinking of the expertise and services you provide to your boss as a brand. If you missed the first part, check it out here.
Ok, so you’re convinced that you thinking about yourself as a brand to your boss might […]